


Peace

by plumeriafairy14



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: F/M, Future Fic, Gift Fic, It's sad but I'm very proud of it, New Altea, Shiro and Allura as emperor and empress, TW: Illness, for Sasuhina_gal, shallura - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-26
Updated: 2018-03-26
Packaged: 2019-04-08 10:25:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14103333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/plumeriafairy14/pseuds/plumeriafairy14
Summary: Many decades in the future after team Voltron defeated the evil plagues of the Galra Empire, Allura sits in the palace gazebo with her husband, Shiro. They go through the photo albums they have collected over the years and Allura savors the intimate moment as the former Black Paladin holds her in his embrace while narrating the memory of each photograph.Allura basks in his love and takes what she can; her time is running out, after all.Dedicated to sasuhina_gal/sasuhunasno1fan





	Peace

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sasuhina_gal](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sasuhina_gal/gifts).



> Dear sasuhina_gal/sasuhunasno1fan,
> 
> I have received your wonderful gift today. I had to figure out how the heck I got Rachel Huey's zine bundle when I never ordered anything from them and I had to bust out my investigator skills (which include climbing to roof and screaming "WHO DIS?!") to track down the sender which led me to finding out that it was you. Angel told me that you wanted to cheer me up because of the tough time I was going through while writing my thesis and the horrible days of self doubt when I hated every single thing I tried to create for the fandom. 
> 
> Thank you for this. It surely took me by surprise and I don't really know what I did to deserve such a gift from you. You've written fanfics OF my fanfics and you're always approving of my story ideas. You've been one of the most supportive readers I know and you help keep me going to create. I want to express my gratitude with this Shallura fic. It's not much but I'm very proud of it and I couldn't think of a better way to present it to the fandom than by dedicating it to you.
> 
> You're wonderful and you yourself are a gift. 
> 
> Love,   
> Fairy

The morning sun is warm against her dark skin and the bird songs are a welcome symphony which soothes her heart. Allura inhales deeply to savor the sweet scent of freshly bloomed juniberries, a successful outcome from the combined efforts of the Olkari, the Balmerans, and the Paladins in an attempt to revive the flowers. Pidge found a few seeds preserved in cryo-capsule along with other flowers and herbs that they thought were forever lost after Altea perished in the hands of the Galra.

Now, with emperor Zarkon, Lotor, and their twisted followers gone and defeated, no one will harm these innocent blossoms or any other world again. It is a slow and delicate process that could take generations, but the universe is healing.

Slowly, the scenery of the royal garden passes in a mixture of tranquil colors. Shiro, her husband, pushes her medical hover chair with utmost care. Allura lifts a hand to cover her mouth along with a silk handkerchief and coughs feebly. The former Black Paladin stops and looks over towards her with a look of genuine worry in his dark eyes.

“Are you alright, love?” He asks and Allura lifts her head to look at him with a smile on her face. She drinks in the sight of him and admits it for the nth time how beautifully Shiro had aged over the years.

“I’m fine, Takashi.” She smiles and leans her head to the side to press her cheek against the cool metal of Shiro’s forearm. “You shouldn’t worry about me so much. Lance says you’re getting more lines on your forehead.”

Unlike Shiro, Allura is different now; her long and curly snow white hair is cut short to her shoulders and it has turned into a dull shade of ash. Those iridescent blue eyes of hers are pale from her failing vision and her once strong and capable body is now frail. Those were just some of the visible symptoms of the incurable Altean disease that ran in her family.

The very same one that took her mother’s life when Allura was just a little girl.

“Lance has a beauty routine.” Shiro briefly trails his fingers to brush Allura’s cheek with affection. “He’s cheating.”

Allura laughs softly but says no more and Shiro resumes their walk. The silence that had settled between them was comfortable; just husband and wife enjoying each other’s company. A white gazebo comes into view when they reach the end of the garden and Shiro pushes her chair up a ramp.

“Well, my queen?” Shiro asks and his face lights up with a charming but gentle smile as he holds a hand towards her. Allura blushes deeply and feels ridiculous for feeling so; they’ve been married for decades and yet Shiro still manages to make her face red as a juniberry bud. Then, Allura agrees and places her hand into his. The world spins and the skirts of her dress swishes as Shiro pulls her up and carries her like the bride that she is. Allura can tell that he was being careful as he walks to the outdoor couch and settles her down there.

“Show off.” Allura teases and squints her eyes slightly in an attempt to focus on Shiro’s hazy image.

“I’m glad to know that I can still sweep you off your feet after all these years.” Shiro chuckles and settles beside her on the couch. When he does, Allura leans her head on his shoulder and squeezes herself into the crook of his arm as he wraps it around her thin form.

Silence once again embraces them and they watch the trees sway in the early morning breeze. Quiet moments like this started when they would spend moments of seclusion away from the rest of the team when they were still flying around space during the war. Over time, it had grown to be a shared habit and the moments they spent together started out with comforting talks of home and their hopes and dreams. When the two of them started to become closer, kisses started to get involved and it only bloomed from there until this very day.

“What are you thinking?” Shiro suddenly asks and Allura lifts her head to face him.

“Nothing.” She replies. She can’t tell him the truth of her thoughts for she knew that it would only ruin this moment between them. And right now, there is nothing more Allura wants than to spend what she had left with the man who had tied his heart and soul with hers so many years ago. “And you?”

“Well,” Shiro says and Allura catches him glancing on the plump clouds that are sailing in the sky. “I’m hoping that our little girl is doing fine on her first diplomatic mission with her uncle Lance.”

Allura’s heart skips a beat at the thought of their beautiful daughter with her fiery spirit and her golden heart. Airiah is a gift that she had always hoped for but believed was impossible when they were at war with the Galra. Back then, every day was a struggle and every dawn could have been her last. Love was not high on her list but nonetheless, it was there. When she met Shiro after she almost tore off Lance’s arm on the first day she met these earthlings, a small and secret part of her heart hoped.

That hope bore a tiny life from their love years after the war; a life of a young woman who had succeeded her father as the Black Paladin and who would soon become the next queen of their newly found home planet.

Allura cranes her neck up and nuzzles the skin of Shiro’s neck that is exposed underneath his high Altean collar. Underneath her touch, she feels him stir to turn to her and he presses his lips against the warmth of her forehead in a loving kiss. She closes her eyes and deeply breathes in his scent until she can feel him in the deepest crevices of her heart. Heat blooms in her stomach and a smile lifts her lips but her movements are limited by her brittle bones and the pangs of pain in her joints whenever she moves too much.

“I’m sure she will do fine.” Allura says as she pulls back slightly and lifts a hand to brush against the stubble on Shiro’s jaw. “We taught her well.” A sigh escapes her and she leans back against the couch to take a moment. “Takashi, did Keith send in the new photo album Lance said he’d organize?” Allura suddenly asks and Shiro nods.

“He just sent it in yesterday.” Her husband replies. Shiro stands up and goes to one of the decorative shelves on the other end of the gazebo to retrieve a thick leather bound album. Even if photographs are out of fashion for so many centuries now, Hunk was able to find a way to recreate a classic earth camera after Lance suggested that they begin the tradition of collecting photos. Besides Pidge’s witty remarks, Lance was able to defend the cause;

 _“Data can get corrupted!”_ He said back then. _“Photos have more sentimentality in them and my mom collects them all the time!”_

“It’s nice of Lance to arrange this besides his busy schedule as ambassador.” Allura says and she moves a bit to make room for Shiro on the couch.

“Actually, yes, Lance is too busy for this,” Shiro settles back in beside her and places the album to balance on his lap while Allura leans her head to rest once more against him, his arm around her shoulders. They’ve all been pitching in to gather the electronic pictures and turn them into physical photographs that they can keep in the albums. “That’s why Keith’s the one who put this together.”

“Lance nagged him to do it, didn’t he?” Allura guesses and it was confirmed when Shiro chuckles in agreement. “Hell hath no fury than a lover scorned, after all.” He turns the front cover to open the album and giggles bubbles in her throat when she sees that the first photo on the page was of her and the paladins after they had that food fight in the castle ship’s dining room. She had just woken up from her ten millennia slumber and found the new set of paladins staring down at her with shock like she had fifteen pairs of eyes. They didn’t get along well at first but the trials and the dangers they faced together created a bond between them.

“I remember this,” The queen smiles sheepishly. “Even I disliked you before.”

“Well, you were pretty bossy so it was a rocky start.” Shiro agrees. “But I don’t think I’d be here with you today if we gave up.” He turns the page and the next photo was of Pidge dressed glamorously in Altean inspired formal wear. The green paladin was looking up happily at her older brother Matt while he placed a medal of honor around his little sister. On the side were their parents, looking extremely proud of their daughter’s incredible breakthrough with the state of the art artificial weather system that mimicked the original Altea’s climate.

“If it wasn’t for Pidge.” Allura gently trails a finger on the photograph to affectionately caress the former green paladin’s image. “This beautiful garden wouldn’t exist right now.”

“That mission with the Olkari really did a number on her.” Shiro chuckles. “I remember how she used to complain about poison oak.”

“After all these years, I still don’t understand how you humans could consider it as ‘poison.’” She wonders. “It makes a pleasant herbal bath.”

“Uhm…” Shiro isn’t quite sure how to react to that and it makes Allura laugh but she stops when a coughing fit interrupts her. She turns away to cover her mouth with her handkerchief and she feels Shiro’s hand on her shoulder.

“Don’t worry, it’s nothing!” Allura beams but it was apologetic. However, she makes a subtle effort to hide the silk handkerchief from her husband so that he wouldn’t see the crimson spots of blood. She distracts him and motions at the album to a candid photo of Hunk bent over a field with a hoe in his hands. Beside him, Shay held a basket of surface crops that were ready to be planted. The two looked so happy together while they worked with the other Balmerans visible in the picture.

“He called this morning while you were still asleep.” Shiro says, his voice gentle at the memory of the former yellow paladin. “He asked how things were.” Allura feels the soft touch of his fingers against her cheekbone. “And you.”

“I feel fine; quite pleasant, actually.” She lies. Allura does not lift her gaze to look at her husband so that Shiro doesn’t notice how the light of life is slowly leaving her eyes. She sounds tired now and she feels her body going slack. “He’s going to take Shay to visit his family on earth soon, yes?”

“Another reason why he called. He asked if I wanted anything from earth so he can drop it off here on the way back to the Balmera.”

“Ever so thoughtful, our Hunk.” Caring by nature, Hunk had remained humble despite the fame the team earned after they liberated countless planets from the Garla. “I’m happy that he’s found his calling by helping the Balmera become a better place to live in. It’s become like a second home to him.” This time, Allura was the one who turns the page.

The blueness of the ocean the earthlings call Varadero Beach awakens her memories of her first visit to earth and it was Coran who took the photo. The white cotton sundress she wore blew in the wind and her hand pinned down the large shady hat on her head to keep it from flying away. Beside her, Shiro grinned while holding two glasses of a cold fruity drink. Allura forgets the name of the beverage, but she remembers well that it was delicious. Along with them, Hunk held up a peace sign while Pidge posed with large sunglasses that covered half of her face and she held up a sea creature called a starfish.  It was shaped like a star but Allura still couldn’t grasp as to why it was a fish.

Behind them by the shore, a newly married Lance and Keith stood candidly watching the ocean with their fingers intertwined.

“Your planet is so beautiful.” Allura whispers, her words barely audible. “It was worth protecting like so many others.”

She was getting tired. She was getting sleepy. She knew that she must hurry; that she must take what she could and bask in it before it’s too late.

Allura’s troubles melt away when her hand touches Shiro’s and together, they turn the page. After they do, she feels tears prick her eyes. Her already hazy vision blurs even more by the tears that films them. “Oh.”

The tears do not fall because Allura blinks them back. She can’t risk worrying Shiro and it would hurt her to ruin the moment with him. So she stares at the double page spread on the album; one is a photo of their wedding day. They had just finished their vows and Shiro’s arms were around her waist while Allura leaned up to kiss her groom. Thick emotion bubbles in her heart and sobs are trapped in her throat but Allura smiles tearfully when her eyes shift to the other spread.

It was a picture of her and Shiro in the garden. Allura was laughing in the photo and a tiny Airiah rode proudly on her father’s strong shoulders with a toy bayard in her hand.

“She had always shown the potential to be great.” Shiro beams but his dark eyes softened as he speaks about their daughter. “I was expecting her to succeed Keith as the Red Paladin because she liked to dive head first into danger.”

“But she succeeded you as the head of Voltron instead.” Allura cranes her head and presses a kiss upon Shiro’s lips and her heart melts when he returns it with affection. But with the way her body is slowly failing, it was the last of her best efforts; she can do no more. Silence followed but Shiro doesn’t turn the page and they stare at the photo of their family. The sun is high up in the sky now but it radiates gentle warmth on Allura’s skin and the breeze makes her short locks sway like a silver curtain.

“Do you want to go back inside?” Shiro asks but Allura shakes her head and hums a ‘no’. Her weight fully presses against him but he does not appear fazed at all; she weighs almost like nothing now.

“I want to…stay…here.” Allura breathes out each word with slow difficulty and she feels Shiro stiffen against her.

“Allura, I can go get…”

“No.” Allura shakes her head again. “Stay, please.” She turns her gaze to the photo album once again and her fingers crawl to caress the photo of her lovely paladin and their beautiful daughter. Airiah will be crowned as the new queen in just a few months and Allura knows deep inside that while the whole planet is celebrating her daughter’s coronation, Allura won’t be there.

That is her only regret.

“When Altea was… destroyed and father…died,” Allura says. “I never thought that I would find happiness again. I wanted to but I…knew that first, I…I must lead.”

“And you did great, love.” Shiro replies tenderly.

“Then I met you and the others.”

“One of the most memorable days of my life.” Shiro admits. “I used to say that I hate Mondays when I was with the Garrison, but that particular Monday made it into my Best Mondays Ever list.”

Allura chuckles quietly. “Takashi, it’s been a good life, right?”

“Yes, a very good one.” Shiro breathes out in worry. “Are you sure you’re alright? I can call the doctor---“

“I feel great.” Allura assures him as she settles into his embrace and with a final effort, she moves her head to rest on Shiro’s chest. “Could you tell me again….my favorite story?” she asks. “That one when we first met?”

Only the bird songs fill the air as Shiro contemplates her request, worry still in his eyes. But nonetheless, he complies because he trusts her words that she really is alright.

“If you insist.” He shakes his head helplessly and leans back against the couch. “It was a Monday, I remember. Lance was chosen by the Blue Lion after Keith led us to the underground cave where it was hidden. Then we all got in and Lance started piloting like a madman while he tried to get used to the controls. But a Galra ship was already near earth so we had to lead them aw-ay…”

Shiro’s voice sounded started to fade but Allura clung onto it and inhaled his clean scent and the junieberries in the air.

“…Wormhole to escape---planet Arus…” his words starts to sound far away and slowly, Allura’s hand slips back from where it rested on the album and it falls limply to her side. “Castle… Th-…you cryopod wi—Coran opens. Lance…you…starts to fl---irt…”

Allura smiles and listens to his thundering heartbeat and she closes her eyes. She felt peace settle in her heart and contentment embraces her, calming her and lulling her to sleep. Allura did what she can and she lived her life the best that she could. The war is over and the universe is in peace. Despite losing her planet, her family, and most of her people who failed to escape, Allura found herself a new one with the paladins. And along with that, she found Shiro and their love bore their own family.

Her life might not have been perfect but it was a life that she lived fully and with that, she is at peace.

Allura struggles and her lips move soundlessly with her last words that were barely audible over the deep rumble of Shiro’s voice;

“I love you.”

Enough. This is enough. She is happy.

“Did you say something, All—ra?” The story stops and along with it, Allura peacefully exhales her last breath and her own heartbeat fades away.

_“Allura? Allura!”_

_“I’m home and uncle Lance said I did great! We have a new alliance! Dad, what’s happe---Mother!”_

The wind blows and the juniberry petals whisk away into the sky to disappear into the distant heavens where the constellations await Allura’s return.

**Author's Note:**

> Wow, is it just me or did someone rub onions against my eyeballs?


End file.
